Occupation Details
Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators
Laminate layers of fiberglass on molds to form boat decks and hulls, bodies for golf carts, automobiles, or other products.
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Interests
Realistic
Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Investigative
Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Conventional
Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Work Values
Working Conditions
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Relationships
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Support
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Salary & Job Outlook
Starting Salary
$34,480.00
New York StateMedian Salary
$49,080.00
New York StateExperienced Salary
$53,050.00
New York StateNational Average for Comparison
New York State Job Market Outlook
Jobs Right Now (2018)
52,050
professionals in NYFuture Job Growth (2030)
56,560
+451 jobs/yearNew Jobs Every Year
6,307
new opportunities yearlyGrowth Rate
0.1%
projected increasePreparation: Experience, Training, and Education
The list below outlines the prior educational experience required to perform in this occupation.
Some Training - Certificate or hands-on training
Experience Requirements
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Education Requirements
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Training Details
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Transferrable Skills and Experience
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, tellers, and dental laboratory technicians.
School Programs
School Programs information is not available for this occupation.
Licensing & Certification
State License and Certifications Requirements are not currently associated with this occupation.
Apprenticeship
Contact your regional representative to learn more about apprenticeships available in your area by visiting Apprenticeship Contacts.
Skills
The list below includes the skills required by workers in this occupation; skills are what allow you to learn more quickly and improve your performance.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Skill level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Knowledge
The list below includes knowledge items, the principles and facts required by this occupation.
Administration and Management
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Production and Processing
Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Chemistry
Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Knowledge level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Work Environment
The list below includes the physical and social factors that influence the nature of work in this occupation.
Hover over or tap each factor to see its description.
Work Styles
Included in the list below are the personal work style characteristics that can affect how well a worker is likely to perform in this occupation.
Achievement/Effort
Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Attention to Detail
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Cooperation
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Dependability
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Independence
Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Initiative
Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Integrity
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Persistence
Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Self-Control
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Stress Tolerance
Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
Tools & Technology
This list below describes the machines, equipment, tools, software, and information technology that workers in this occupation will use.
Tools
- Chopper guns
- Curing ovens
- Cutoff saws
- Fiber reinforced polymer FRP rollers
- Hand shears
- Heat lamps
- High-volume low-pressure HVLP spray guns
- Ladders
- Micrometers
- Paint application brushes
- Paint application rollers
- Paint spray guns
- Personal computers
- Pneumatic spray guns
- Power drills
- Power drivers
- Power grinders
- Power sanders
- Pressure-fed roller applicators
- Respirators
- Rotating mandrels
- Rulers
- Scaffolding
- Squeegees
- Trimming knives
- Vacuum bags
Technology
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Spreadsheet software
Duties
Duties are job behaviors describing activities that occur on multiple jobs. The generalized and detailed work activities described in the list below apply to this occupation.
- measure, weigh, or count products or materials
- mix paint, ingredients, or chemicals, according to specifications
- perform repetitive tasks in assembly setting
- fabricate, assemble, or disassemble manufactured products by hand
- use hand or power tools
- use spray application production equipment
- read blueprints
- read specifications
- read work order, instructions, formulas, or processing charts
- examine products or work to verify conformance to specifications
Tasks
The list below outlines specific tasks that a worker in this occupation is called upon to do regularly.
- Release air bubbles and smooth seams, using rollers.
- Spray chopped fiberglass, resins, and catalysts onto prepared molds or dies using pneumatic spray guns with chopper attachments.
- Apply layers of plastic resin to mold surfaces prior to placement of fiberglass mats, repeating layers until products have the desired thicknesses and plastics have jelled.
- Mix catalysts into resins, and saturate cloth and mats with mixtures, using brushes.
- Check completed products for conformance to specifications and for defects by measuring with rulers or micrometers, by checking them visually, or by tapping them to detect bubbles or dead spots.
- Pat or press layers of saturated mat or cloth into place on molds, using brushes or hands, and smooth out wrinkles and air bubbles with hands or squeegees.
- Inspect, clean, and assemble molds before beginning work.
- Select precut fiberglass mats, cloth, and wood-bracing materials as required by projects being assembled.
- Cure materials by letting them set at room temperature, placing them under heat lamps, or baking them in ovens.
- Apply lacquers and waxes to mold surfaces to facilitate assembly and removal of laminated parts.
- Bond wood reinforcing strips to decks and cabin structures of watercraft, using resin-saturated fiberglass.
- Repair or modify damaged or defective glass-fiber parts, checking thicknesses, densities, and contours to ensure a close fit after repair.
- Mask off mold areas not to be laminated, using cellophane, wax paper, masking tape, or special sprays containing mold-release substances.
- Check all dies, templates, and cutout patterns to be used in the manufacturing process to ensure that they conform to dimensional data, photographs, blueprints, samples, or customer specifications.
- Trim excess materials from molds, using hand shears or trimming knives.
- Trim cured materials by sawing them with diamond-impregnated cutoff wheels.
Learning Resources
More information on this occupation may be found in the links provided below.
Assemblers and fabricators
Visit this link for additional information on this career from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; a publication produced and maintained by the United States Department of Labor.
Learn More